Two high-ranking Battle-Crazed, heavily injured in both arms, roared as they clawed their way out of the earth. The might of the Mu Cang Tribe propelled them as they slammed their heads against Gu Xiechen's body. “Avenge the Captain!” the two warriors shrieked hoarsely, their skulls infused with immense True Energy, their bones and flesh hardened like iron spheres.

Crack-thud, the Ruyi Gloves whistled through the air, shattering both skulls. Gu Xiechen flicked the red ice shards clinging to his hand, clasped his hands together in a gesture of slight reluctance, and murmured a Buddhist prayer.

“A group of fine men.” “…But if I don’t kill you, how will you ever let me go?”

A gloomy gaze swept across the distant dense forest; nearly a hundred black silhouettes were rapidly closing in. Gu Xiechen cursed with grim fury, “Vagri, I will not let you go!” Stomping his foot hard, Gu Xiechen was about to pull Zhao Yi and the others back to evade the oncoming mass of Innate Battle-Crazed when a dull engine roar suddenly echoed from the sky. A squadron of heavy ground-attack aircraft glided slowly from the high altitude. Their matte black paint absorbed the sunlight so deeply it seemed like specters of the night, casting intense psychological pressure on everyone below.

“Damn it!” Gu Xiechen shouted, “Zhao Yi, notify Linghu to prepare the elites for combat… Mix in with the special forces personnel as much as possible; absolutely do not let them guide the attack planes!”

In the dense jungles of Paradise Star, ground-attack aircraft could only maximize their destructive effectiveness when guided by ground units. The thick canopy obscured most detection signals, and the complex terrain, along with the vast quantities of heavy metal ore underground, made returning scan signals chaotic and unreliable.

Special forces soldiers had to use laser designators to guide the ground-attack aircraft to ensure accuracy and efficiency. Otherwise, a chaotic barrage of bombing would likely fail to even scratch a hair off the targets.

The greatest crisis had arrived. The Hell’s Angels mercenaries hidden in the valley lacked heavy weaponry; the few shoulder-fired missiles Gu Xiechen had seized hadn't been returned yet, and even if they were, they would be a drop in the ocean against hundreds of heavy attack jets, unable to achieve much.

Outside the valley where the Hell’s Angels mercenaries were concealed, three teams of special forces soldiers were in position, their laser designators aimed at several hastily constructed fire points within the valley.

The ground-based laser signals were immediately received by the heavy attack aircraft circling high above. Two attack jets subtly tilted their bodies, descending rapidly from over ten thousand meters to the three-thousand-meter medium-high altitude. The weapon pods beneath their bellies slowly opened, and each aircraft launched three high-precision heavy earth-penetrating bombs.

Gu Xiechen heard the unique, sharp tearing sound of objects piercing the air overhead. He roared, “Chupiao IV series penetrators! Damn it!”

The Chupiao IV series earth-penetrating bombs were also produced by the Gu Corporation; Gu Xiechen himself had been the general manager overseeing the production of these very bombs. Each Chupiao IV penetrator weighed a full ton, its warhead packed with six hundred kilograms of nano-grade composite explosives, giving a single shell the equivalent destructive power of three tons of standard TNT. Ignoring the nearly one hundred Battle-Crazed rushing toward him, Gu Xiechen roared and sprinted toward the valley. The six sleek penetrating bombs deployed slender tail fins and drifted lightly toward the jungle canopy, following the laser signals reflected from the ground. Before Gu Xiechen was even five or six kilometers from the valley, the six bombs had smashed through the multi-layered net of vines covering the valley roof and accurately burrowed into the three fire points set up by Linghu’s organization.

Thump. The jungle floor vibrated heavily, and three columns of smoke shot straight into the sky, leaving three circular clearings over a hundred meters in diameter inside the valley. The six bombs had pierced the ground thirty meters deep at their respective fire points before detonating violently. Dozens of Hell’s Angels mercenaries at the three points were instantly blown to shreds, tearing open a small breach in the valley’s defensive system.

More special operations teams arrived outside the valley, seeping into the jungle like swimming fish. Against these seasoned special forces fighters, even the best-camouflaged fire points were completely exposed. Laser signals continuously transmitted skyward. Heavy attack aircraft descended gracefully from high altitude, their belly weapon pods opening to rain down a deluge of guided munitions.

Columns of smoke rose incessantly from the valley as Linghu’s arranged fire points were systematically eliminated one by one. Supported by air power, the special operations teams gradually infiltrated the valley, their light and heavy weapons tearing apart foliage and kicking up dust and earth. A contingent of Hell’s Angels mercenaries howled as they charged out of the valley, also forming small squads to clash head-on with the special forces battalion. Suddenly, the heavy attack aircraft in the sky lost their signal source. They circled the valley reluctantly a few times before cautiously returning to high altitude.

The enraged Gu Xiechen stormed into the valley like a gale; it had transformed into a slaughterhouse.

Mercenaries and special forces soldiers were locked in a brutal melee, gunfire crisscrossing everywhere, punctuated by startled cries as men fell. However, the vast majority of those falling were mercenaries from the mercenary group; their thin uniforms offered no defense against shrapnel. In contrast, the special forces soldiers of the battalion wore their customized Stygian series combat suits, rendering the small-caliber rounds from the mercenaries almost completely ineffective.

“I’ll kill your mothers!” As soon as Gu Xiechen entered the valley, he saw three teams of fifteen special forces soldiers coldly executing seven heavily wounded mercenaries who lay on the ground by shooting them again. Gu Xiechen roared and lunged forward, his claws a blur. The savage Snow Essence Divine Shield tore through the combat suits of the fifteen special forces soldiers, turning their bodies into frozen blocks of ice.

A few mercenary soldiers jumped out from a nearby thicket. Forgoing any greeting to Gu Xiechen, they immediately lunged for the heavy weaponry held by the special forces troops.

Gu Xiechen promptly kicked three laser designators over to these mercenaries. “Summon the sky attacks and strike these sons of bitches!” The eyes of several mercenaries lit up, and they quickly gripped the three laser designators and sprinted back into the jungle.

Tens of seconds later, two columns of special forces soldiers advancing in a staggered cross-cover formation were suddenly hammered by overhead attacks; five heavy aerial bombs pulverized them into dust.

Gu Xiechen moved swiftly through the valley, continuously hunting and killing individual special forces soldiers. This time, he no longer snatched their heavy weapons but directly seized the laser designators they carried. More mercenaries obtained the designators, and more false target indicators were directed at the special forces soldiers engaged in fierce combat within the jungle. Wave after wave of heavy bombs and missiles fell, causing rapid attrition among the special forces ranks.

Soon, the frontline command point of the special forces battalion detected that something was severely wrong. The heavy attack aircraft overhead simultaneously retreated to high altitude, ceasing to receive ground signals. All special forces soldiers began consolidating toward a few coordinates, preparing for a full assault on the Hell’s Angels mercenaries’ hiding spot in the valley.

Gu Xiechen rushed close behind these special forces soldiers toward their assembly point, dense chilling energy swirling around him as the killing intent in his heart burned like intense fire.

In just half an hour of fighting, the Hell’s Angels mercenary group had lost at least four thousand men. Facing the Federal Special Forces Battalion, which held absolute superiority in military hardware, the mercenaries were as helpless as infants confronting a world boxing champion.

Gu Xiechen had successfully stalled twelve special forces battalions for over an hour, but that was all he could manage. He was only one man, not a god!

The massive casualties inflicted upon the mercenaries only stoked the demonic fire in Gu Xiechen’s heart; he was ready to fight to the death now!

The twelve special forces battalions, after prolonged heavy fighting, still had over seven thousand soldiers remaining. These men gathered outside a passage leading outward from the southwest of the valley, preparing to charge directly into the valley via this route to completely annihilate every last Hell’s Angels mercenary. Their order was clear: eliminate all mercenaries; Gu Xiechen had other powerful combat units to deal with. Twenty-one officers, all clad in specialized combat suits, stood at the forefront of the assembled force. One officer, whose tight combat suit was covered in a thin layer of purple scales, barked sternly, “Captain John of the Seventh Battalion has been killed; the Seventh Battalion is now absorbed into the First, taking orders from me…”

Whoosh! Gu Xiechen burst from the dense forest like a whirlwind. He placed his toe heavily on the head of one special forces soldier, traversing over three hundred meters in a single leap to appear directly above the eleven officers. The nearly one hundred Innate Battle-Crazed who had been relentlessly pursuing Gu Xiechen poured out of the forest behind him, all leveraging off the soldiers’ heads to launch themselves forward.

Gu Xiechen pulled out the Small Qiankun Pouch, pouring all his essence, spirit, and energy into it simultaneously.

The ten captains of the special forces battalions were caught completely off guard and sucked in by the cyan light erupting from the mouth of the pouch. They urgently mobilized their True Energy to resist the pouch’s pull, but just then, Zhao Yi and the others charged out of the forest. Dozens of massive stones, logs, and chunks of earth shot out from nowhere, slamming precisely into the backs of the eleven captains. The heavy impact force sent the eleven captains flying several feet into the air. Once their feet left the ground, they had nowhere to push off from. The azure gale inhaled, and the eleven figures floated indistinctly into the pouch.

The full force of the Samadhi True Fire descended fiercely. This fire, capable of melting gold and refining iron, took several seconds to vaporize the specialized combat suits, instantly reducing the captains of the special forces battalions to wisps of pale smoke.

Gu Xiechen’s True Energy and spiritual power were instantly depleted by forty percent. He took a deep breath and slammed a powerful fist into his sternum.

His Primordial Yuan Dao Fetus was stimulated, and his heart began to beat rapidly, reaching an astonishing twelve hundred beats per second almost instantaneously. Immense energy surged forth from his heart, instantly filling Gu Xiechen’s body. The blood vessels in his retinas swelled, and everything in his vision turned a uniform crimson red.

His True Energy and spiritual power were rapidly replenished. Gu Xiechen spun around violently, aiming the Pouch at the nearly one hundred Innate Battle-Crazed who were diving toward him. These Battle-Crazed were all airborne, suspended awkwardly between heaven and earth. The suction of the Qiankun Pouch was incredibly strong; wherever the cyan light passed, the nearly one hundred warriors were sucked into the pouch with frantic yells. The rolling Samadhi True Fire followed immediately, reducing the nearly one hundred Battle-Crazed to ashes in an instant. Hundreds of special forces soldiers within a hundred meters of Gu Xiechen simultaneously lifted weightlessly, shrieking in terror as they were drawn into the pouch and similarly refined by the True Fire.

Gu Xiechen immediately understood the limits of the Small Qiankun Pouch in his current state. The reach of the azure gale covered only about a hundred meters. To achieve the power described in the Fairy Jin’s residual consciousness—the ability to swallow mountains and seas, refining targets with wind and thunder—he was still far, far away.

The special forces soldiers on the field were utterly stunned. Eleven captains, each possessing at least low-tier Jupiter strength, and nearly a hundred Battle-Crazed, the weakest of whom were low-tier Pluto level, were wiped out by Gu Xiechen in one fell swoop? But their shock lasted less than a second before these elite special forces soldiers raised their rifles and guns, pulling the trigger on Gu Xiechen.

Gu Xiechen let out a long cry, his body retreating backward like wind or mist.

Zhao Yi and the hundred great men stepped forward in unison. Zhao Yi shouted fiercely, “One Qi Flows to the Origin, Heaven and Earth Harmonize Great Formation!”

Heh, heh, heheh! The ninety-nine companions surrounding Zhao Yi simultaneously let out excited roars. Zhao Yi stood at the very front, and one companion immediately stood behind him, pressing both hands tightly against Zhao Yi’s back heart. The one hundred great men thus formed a long dragon, each man’s hands pressed tightly against the back heart of the man in front of him.

Whoosh. A fierce wind swept up from the ground. Zhao Yi’s hands rapidly shifted through hand seals as he continuously chanted abstruse incantations. The True Energy and magical power of all ninety-nine companions surged into his body. This immense power strained Zhao Yi’s meridians to the point of bursting. His original height of over two meters began to expand with terrifying cracking sounds until his body grew to over three meters tall, rivaling Xin Jia in stature.

Gu Xiechen, who had retreated into the jungle, turned back in horror, about to call for Zhao Yi and the others to withdraw and wait for an opportunity to eliminate the surrounding special forces soldiers. He widened his eyes in terror. Pooling the cultivation of one hundred men into Zhao Yi alone? Was this preparation for suicide? Shocked, Gu Xiechen slammed into a large tree with a thump, half his head sinking deep into the trunk. Gu Xiechen gasped, “Zhao Yi, you truly have guts!”

“Heh!” Zhao Yi let out a heavy breath. His fingers danced exquisitely, tracing patterns through the air that constantly left behind brilliant streaks of light. Gradually, these light patterns formed a complex runic matrix in the air. At the core of the rune was a chaotic gray airflow, faintly shot through with sparks of lightning. Circling the gray energy and lightning were thirty-six exquisitely carved characters: the word "Thunder." Outside these precise characters, a cyan aura and a gray aura formed a Tai Chi twin-fish pattern, spinning rapidly around them.

The collective True Energy and magical power of the hundred men were injected into this complex rune, causing the lightning within the rune to blaze brightly for a moment.

Zhao Yi and his companions roared in unison, “Supreme Elder, hasten as if by law! We request the True Lord of Primordial Fate in the Nine Heavens Thunder Division. Execute Heaven and Earth’s decree, cleanse the filth of the mortal realm! Command complete, execute thunder!”

The rune transformed into a streak of lightning that shot into the high sky. A patch of thick, dark clouds materialized from thin air, hanging low over the dense jungle covering an area less than one square kilometer. The clouds pressed lower and lower, until they were less than ten meters above the ground. The special forces soldiers gathered below simultaneously cried out in alarm, looking up at the ominous clouds in confusion, not knowing what was happening.

Crack-crack! With a tremendous sound, thousands of electrical serpents, each as thick as a human arm, descended simultaneously from the clouds. Each electrical serpent gently coiled around the body of a special forces soldier. Countless fine electric arcs seeped from the serpents into the bodies of the soldiers, and a scent of roasting meat slowly began to permeate the jungle.

Zhao Yi and his companions retreated rapidly. As he pulled back, Zhao Yi casually grabbed Gu Xiechen, who was staring dumbfounded at the show. The group fled into the jungle almost in a ‘head-down scramble,’ while Zhao Yi muttered, “My Nascent Soul is damaged, and my magical power hasn't fully recovered, but this Nine Heavens Mandate Thunder cannot be touched lightly—it damages the physical body upon contact, and obliterates the soul!”

“Nine Heavens Mandate Thunder?” Gu Xiechen fled alongside Zhao Yi, curiously turning his head to look back.

Following nine successive dull thunderclaps, the inky black clouds suddenly pressed downward. The sound of crackling electricity filled the air, and the smell of ozone from intensely ionized air slowly spread. Gradually, the clouds dissipated, revealing a circular clearing two kilometers in diameter where there had been lush green forest. This clearing was blackened and utterly barren, and the ground level was more than a meter lower than the surrounding forest floor.

Thousands of special forces soldiers, thousands of towering trees, and countless vines and vegetation were utterly pulverized in that single strike.

“Zhao Yi, you guys…!” Gu Xiechen grinned ferociously, giving Zhao Yi a thumbs-up.

Zhao Yi smiled honestly. “Your humble general and the others guard the Southern Heavenly Gate. This is the Heavenly Punishment Edict passed down from the Superior Official, specifically designed to suppress all demons and monsters. Once the Edict is enacted, the rules of Heaven and Earth spontaneously multiply its power tenfold. How could its might be small?”

Gu Xiechen’s mouth dropped open in astonishment. Had he heard correctly? Zhao Yi and his group’s Nine Heavens Mandate Thunder could spontaneously increase its power tenfold? No wonder the lightning’s power was so heaven-defying!

Looking up unwillingly at the heavy attack jets circling high in the sky, Zhao Yi sighed, “It is a pity that our magical powers have not yet recovered, otherwise we could have beaten even those big birds down.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Zhao Yi and the others all changed expression. “Exalted One, we exerted ourselves too greatly today; our Nascent Souls seem unstable. We need to return immediately to stabilize our Nascent Souls. For the next few days, your humble generals will be unable to serve!”

Without waiting for Gu Xiechen to speak, the bodies of Zhao Yi and the others began to blur and fade, turning into streaks of purple light that flew into Gu Xiechen’s brow.

Gu Xiechen touched his brow, looking up at the attack planes in the sky with some annoyance. The strength Vagri commanded far surpassed that of Gu Xiechen and the Hell’s Angels mercenaries. Although they had repelled the encirclement by twelve Federal Special Forces Battalions, just these airborne attack jets, if Vagri carpet-bombed without regard for cost, could ensure Gu Xiechen and Linghu escaped, but at least seventy percent of the remaining Hell’s Angels mercenaries would be lost.

“Xin Jia, oh Xin Jia, have you finished yet?” Gu Xiechen stomped his foot hard.

Just then, three transport ships suddenly burst forth from the clouds on the distant horizon. These three ships raced toward them with arrogant dominance, causing the airborne ground-attack jets to scatter wherever they went.

Xin Jia’s massive, mountain-like body stood on the deck of the first transport ship, a thick iron chain spinning like a whirlwind in his hand, driving back the heavy attack jets one after another.

The three transport ships flew directly over the valley. The hatch of one vessel opened, and Peng Hua, his face pale and his eyes dull, clearly suffering severe spiritual damage, leaped down from an altitude of over three hundred meters. Clearly, Peng Hua’s vital energy was excessively depleted; he had intended to land gracefully in front of Gu Xiechen with a flourish, but his footing faltered, and he fell awkwardly onto his back in front of Gu Xiechen.

“Mr. Peng Hua?” Gu Xiechen smiled.

Peng Hua looked up wretchedly and chuckled dryly, “Gu Xiechen, stop wasting time. Get your people aboard quickly; we need to leave here immediately. That bastard Vagri truly dared to attack our Ya Yuan Alliance! Heh heh, we agree to cooperate with you and overcome this difficulty together!”

Xin Jia landed heavily on the ground. Following the momentum, he knelt on one knee and bowed to Gu Xiechen.

Helping Xin Jia up, Gu Xiechen immediately summoned Linghu. All surviving members of the Hell’s Angels mercenary group carried their heavily wounded comrades and boarded the transport ships.

Gu Xiechen stood on a large rock, quietly observing the heavily decimated Hell’s Angels mercenary group.

At that moment, three black shadows suddenly lunged out from the thicket a few dozen meters away. A great saber large enough to butcher whales, a rapier as thin as a toothpick, and a fist gleaming with strange metallic luster struck thunderously toward Gu Xiechen.

“Seeking death!” Peng Hua met the two-meter-long great saber with a punch. The saber, weighing several tons, slammed against Peng Hua’s fist, driving him backward. A black shadow gripped the saber hilt, howling and straining to drive the blade forward. Waves of heavy, dormant energy erupted from the blade’s edge, creating the impression that one strike would cleave Peng Hua in two.

Xin Jia’s iron chain whipped around like a monstrous serpent, a whirlwind of steel erupting around Gu Xie Chen. The needle-thin rapier flashed out with the force of a sudden squall, piercing the circling chain hundreds of times. With a chorus of sharp clangs and pings, Xin Jia’s chain was violently repelled. The slender, black silhouette holding the sword slapped a hand flat against Xin Jia’s lower abdomen. With a deafening thud, Xin Jia staggered backward, but capitalizing on the momentum, he launched a heavy kick that slammed into the figure, sending the black shadow soaring dozens of meters into the air.

Gu Xie Chen traced a small, effortless arc with his right hand, then pointed a single finger toward the strange, metallic-sheened fist hurtling down toward his head.

Peng Hua’s body convulsed as dark corporeal energy rolled off him. Having been cleaved back nearly a hundred meters, he finally managed to stabilize himself. A flash of blinding crimson light sparked deep within his eyes, and Peng Hua suddenly plunged beneath the earth. His heavy broadsword struck the ground with immense force, the resulting violent gale whipping up and gouging a massive fissure, several meters deep and nearly a hundred meters long, across the surface. Immediately afterward, the unseen assailant lost all consciousness.

A clawed hand suddenly burst from the earth directly between his legs, piercing straight upward and tearing deep into his lower body, puncturing vital internal organs.

Another chapter, how many chapters is it now?

Mmm, working hard on the typing, updating diligently. Comrades, vote hard!

Heh heh, it’s been years since I’ve had such a satisfyingly intense update pace.

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Awoooo!!!